Chasing the Galactica
by p1nkfl0yd
Summary: The survivors of the Battlestar Solaria are in a desperate race to catch up with the Fleet before they are lost forever. The story is now complete, and reviews are greatly appreciated.
1. A Failed Search

CHASING THE GALACTICA

By Matt "p1nkfl0yd" Plenert

**Chapter 1- A Failed Search**

"Bear, this is Solaria Actual. Do you read?"

"I copy Solaria Actual. Go ahead."

"Your tanker request has been denied, Bear. RTB immediately."

"Solaria Actual, you do realize that if I were to do that, our pilots will be bingo O2?"

"Solaria Actual has considered this, Bear. This system is a tactical nightmare, and we cannot risk staying any longer without Viper support. You are to RTB immediately, Bear. Solaria Actual, out."

Lt. Theodore Roebuck let his head sink back into his seat in distress. Lt. Roebuck had been a Raptor pilot for the past 8 years, and not a single time had he ever lost a single pilot under his command. Now, as it would seem, he lost five. He wasn't sure who to blame. He could blame his ECO, for frakking up the coordinates and putting half of the squadron into a hillside. He could blame himself for not considering the weather and geographical conditions planetside. And it could be Solaria's fault for not permitting further SNR missions. What risk could they be talking about? The human race had not seen battle in over forty years; as if the Cylons or some other race would come out of frakkin' nowhere and start a war? Roebuck, however, could do no more himself. Beta wing was bingo fuel, and Solaria refused to send a tanker. It was that simple. Bear sent a message to his wing.

"Beta wing this is flight lead. Call in, over."

"This is Beta 2, I read you, over."

"Beta 3 copies, over."

"Beta 4 is here, over."

"Bad news, ladies and gentlemen. Solaria has refused to send a tanker. We're going to have to head back to the battlestar."

Bravo 3 piped up.

"Well what the frak does Solaria figure we should do with the pilots? They could still be alive down there."

"Clearly, Solaria thinks these pilots are expendable. There's nothing we can do. I'll take this up with command, but for now you all need to head to the exosphere, spin up your FTLs and head back to base."

Bear's ECO, Lt. JG. Francine "8-Ball" Rusmussen, was clearly distraught as well.

"We frakked up, boss. How the hell are we gonna get past this one?"

"For once, 8-Ball, I have no frakkin' idea. Just plot our course for home."

Once the Raptor breached the atmosphere, Bear could hear the empty sound of the FTL drives spinning up. Moments later, the ship entered subspace, leaving behind the friends he had known for so long.


	2. A Thorough Beasting

**Chapter 2- A Thorough Beasting**

As soon as the door of his Raptor opened, Lt. Teddy "Bear" Roebuck knew he and his ECO were Public Enemy #1 on the Solaria. Stares from the ground crew followed him as he jumped out of the ship. Roebuck knew he was at least partly at fault for the loss of his wingmen, one of whom was the ship's CAG. However, he could not portray this to the ground crew, who were made up of NCOs.

"Attention on deck!" hollered Roebuck.

No one moved.

"I SAID ATTENTION ON DECK!"

The ground crew sluggishly shuffled their feet together. Roebuck turned around and held onto 8-Ball's hand and helped her jump off of the Raptor. As Roebuck removed his helmet, one of the ground crew, approached him, saluted, and said that Commander Willis needed to see him in the CIC.

"Looks like we're up, 8-Ball. Let's get going."

The two of them exited the hangar. Roebuck wanted to bolt for the door at the end of the hangar to avoid the accusatory stares, but he needed to carry himself like a leader. The two pilots reached the door and it slid open. Despite the fact that no one could see him walking through the hallways, the stares of the crew haunted him all the way to the CIC. As soon as they got there, they were haunted by the stares of 20 or so more people, including the stare of the man that mattered the most; Commander Eric Willis. Willis was a veteran of the First Cylon War, which is probably what made him so paranoid. He was a tall, brooding man; as black as the consoles behind him. He was old, but it appeared he was ready to hold onto his ship until the day he died. Roebuck knew he was going to get the beasting of his lifetime, but Roebuck also knew Willis was not the one to do it publicly. The two were brought to the CIC to ensure that whenever you frak-up, you are made to feel like the biggest piece of shite alive. The booming voice of Willis broke the awful silence.

"Bear. 8-Ball. My quarters. NOW."

The two pilots stomped, saluted and did an about turn. They followed Willis to his quarters, and he promptly shut the door.

"Do you know why I switch up flight leaders on training exercise, Lt. Roebuck?"

"Yes sir. It is to ensure…"

"Shut up, Lieutenant. You've shown to me today that you don't know the first thing about anything, so let me explain this to you. When I was in the Cylon War, one of the major faults of my commanders was that they didn't train you well enough in leadership. So, I figured, when I became a Commander, I would ensure that all my pilots could take charge in pressure situations. Now, apparently, I frakked up along the line, because from what I've seen today, the only thing you can lead is my frakking CAG, right into the side of a frakking mountain!"

"I can explain, sir."

Willis shot out of his chair and slammed his fist on his desk. Out of his periphery, Bear could see 8-Ball flinch.

"I don't want to hear your frakking explanations, pilot! You killed 5 of my best pilots, and there is nothing –absolutely nothing- that you could say that could possibly answer the question as to what the frak was going on in you head when you murdered 5 of my pilots!"

Wills regained his composure and sat back down in his chair. 8-Ball recovered as well, but remained on her heels.

"This ship has been dangerously low on crew lately. The CAG was in the middle of training a batch of nuggets when you flew him into a mountain, so now we're essentially without a defence force. We won't reach Caprica for another two days, and seeing as you're the most qualified pilot on board, I have no choice but to make you CAG and train them in weapons drill. When we return to Caprica, we'll get a fresh batch of nuggets, a new CAG, and you two will be stripped of your rank and face a court martial for your actions."

The two pilots were shocked, but not surprised. Criminal charges were a serious possibility.

"Do you have anything else to say?"

Bear and 8-Ball looked at each other. 8-Ball then replied.

"No sir."

"Good. Bear, you are to report to the briefing room in 30 minutes. Your nuggets will be practicing dogfighting in transports, so they'll get a contingent of Raptors and dummy warheads. 8-Ball, make sure your Raptor is up and running for the training session. You are dismissed."

The two pilots saluted, did an about face and left the room. As soon as they exited, 8-Ball slumped over.

"A court martial? Are you kidding me? Oh my gods, Teddy! We're going to prison!"

"That's not a certainty yet, Francine. I'm sure evidence in our favour will show up."

Bear gently stroked 8-Ball's hair and brushed it out of her face. They looked each other in the eyes, but the moment quickly ended when the two noticed people walking through the hallway.

"Let's go to the locker room."

Bear nodded his head. The two headed toward the change rooms, and as soon as they entered, they sealed the doors and 8-Ball began sobbing again.

"Oh Christ, Teddy? What are we going to do?"

Bear didn't answer that question immediately. He kept staring at her face. Bear and 8-Ball had hit it off as soon as they had been paired as pilot/ECO, and a physical relationship began soon after that. Bear wasn't sure what Francine saw in him; Bear had the sex appeal of a football hooligan, while 8-Ball was young, pretty, petite, with striking features and firm breasts. Bear didn't take notice; he was lucky and wasn't going to think twice about it. As soon as Francine made eye contact with Teddy, Teddy began to passionately kiss her. She didn't resist. Their hands began to slowly remove parts of clothing from each other's flight suits. Teddy unconsciously felt his hands remove 8-Ball's belt kit while 8-Ball did the same. Eventually the two had each other's tops off, and Teddy began to slide his right hand down Francine's trousers. Suddenly, a PA announcement shuddered throughout the ship.

"All trainees, report to the briefing room for training assignments."

Teddy's hands stopped moving and slowly retracted from inside her pants. The passionate kissing gave way again to the more depressing emotions.

"That's me, baby. Listen, everything's going to be fine, I'm sure of it. Just make sure everything's all right with our Raptor for this assignment."

"Ok, Teddy. I'll see you soon."

Roebuck stood up and put on his flight gear again. As he left, Francine spoke up.

"I love you Teddy."

Roebuck turned around and replied.

"I love you too baby. Everything's going to be fine."

As soon as he left the room, he realized everything he had just said was a lie.

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When he reached the briefing room, Bear already knew he would have a tough time getting respect out of the nuggets. As he stepped into the room, he made himself heard… and feared.

"ATTENTION ON DECK!"

The crowd gingerly stood up; they feared him and respected authority, so they were complied to, but they also knew exactly who he was. When Teddy reached the podium, he instructed the class to sit down.

"Alright everyone, my name is Lt. Roebuck, and I'll be your instructor today. I'm very sorry about your previous instructor. As you all know, he and four other brave pilots were tragically killed on a training op today. Services for the pilots will be held later this evening, but for now we must focus on our drills for today. Today's exercise will test your manoeuvreing in a Raptor aircraft. You will be equipped with dummy warheads. Normally, the Raptor is not designed for combat, but it can be equipped with warheads in the case of high-risk recon and/or SAR. You will each be given an ECO with you on your Raptor today, and I will be your target."

This comment was met with snickers from across the room.

"IS SOMETHING FUNNY, NUGGETS?"

One nugget, a rather old-looking one at that, spoke up.

"Well, sir, it's just that you seem an appropriate target and all, considering the circumstances."

Bear knew he didn't like this one already. It was likely in his late 30s or early 40s. Because he was still an Ensign, it was likely he managed to just barely squeak past the age limit. Bear kept him in mind so he could give him a tough time in training.

"What's your name, nugget?"

"Ensign Leoben Connoy, sir."


	3. Training Really Can Save Your Life

**Chapter 3- Training Really Can Save Your Life**

Just as Bear was about to finish his briefing, the phone in the Ready Room rang. Bear asked his nuggets to be patient while he picked it up.

"Lt. Roebuck, go ahead."

"L.T. This is Bennings, deck hand. You really bunked up your Raptors, sir."

"How so, Bennings?"

"The dust planetside frakked up the avionics, sir. We had to disconnect the networking on the ships to even get to the problem. We fixed it on three ships, but were unable to network them in time."

"So bottom line?"

"Other than your ship, we only have three Raptors for training today."

"Alright. Thanks Bennings."

Roebuck hung up the phone and sighed. He grabbed the clipboard attached to the podium, flipped through a few sheets and found the former CAG's reports on his nuggets. He found the two lowest scores and ran his finger along and found the corresponding names.

_Cheul-kim, Park "Medusa" Ensign_

_Connoy, Leoben "Gramps" Ensign_

"Ensigns Park and Connoy. Stand up."

The loudmouth and possibly the ugliest person he had ever seen stood in front of him. The name was male, but the pilot "it"self was androgynous and easily worthy of the call sign "Medusa."

"Alright. We only have two functional Raptors at this time, and because you two suck the most, you'll be out on drill today. The rest of you get the day off. And Ensign Park, are you male or female?"

The rest of the group burst out laughing. Park was embarrassed.

"I'm male, sir."

"Sorry 'bout that. I just needed to clarify. Park and Connoy, report to the hanger deck to meet your ECOs. Class… dismissed!"

Roebuck already knew he would miss this CAG thing. Despite his frak-up, his class was beginning to like him.

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Once the Raptors were away, Roebuck called his nuggets.

"Able 2 and Able 3, this is Able 1. Do you read?"

"Able 1, this is Able 2. I copy."

"Able 3 reads."

"Now, this is a rather short lesson we'll be doing today. If you were flying Vipers, we would have to go through hours of manoeuvres, but fortunately there's only so many things we can do in this can. After I teach you the moves, I will come after you with dummy warheads. They emit a laser pulse that temporarily shuts down your aircraft. That's not the only incentive not to get shot. Every time I tag you, you get demerits on your records. And since your scores are low already, you don't want that. Now, the first move I'll show you is called the Rope-a-Dope…"

Bear was about to explain the manoeuvre when he was cut off by the Solaria.

"Able 1 this is Solaria Actual, emergency broadcast. Do you read?"

"Solaria Actual, this is Able 1. Go ahead on emergency channel, over."

"Solaria Actual patching you to Fleet-wide broadcast from Admiral Nagala…"

"This is Colonial Fleet Admiral Nagala, aboard the Battlestar Atlantia. It is with unparalleled sorrow that I inform you all that there has been a massive, unexpected Cylon attack on our homeworlds. Early reports from all Twelve Colonies report a massive nuclear bombardment on the planets. Casualty numbers have not been calculated, but it can be reasonably guessed considering the severity and totality of the attacks, that most of human civilization has been wiped out. Words cannot express..."

The Solaria cut the transmission, but no-one cared what else was said. Bear sunk back in his seat. He could hear 8-Ball weeping over her headset.

"Solaria Actual this is Able 1. What are our orders?"

"Able 1, this is Commander Willis. You and your flight group are to RTB immediately. We are attempting to contact any remaining battlestars so we can mount an effective defence against the impending Cylon attack. Repeat, RTB immediately, Able 1. Solaria Actual out."

Bear sent the message to his flight to immediately change course and head back to the Solaria. Able Wing was about a minute out when 8-Ball nearly screamed through her headset.

"DRADIS contact! Bearing 0-1-7-4! Two Cylon basestars and at least 90 Raiders! Solaria Actual, do you read?"

"Roger that 8-Ball. You need to head back to the Solaria double-time so we can FTL the hell out of here! Wait, Able 1. Oh my gods. Preliminary DRADIS scans detect multiple payloads carrying 50 and 100 megaton nuclear warheads! Able 1 you're not going to make it in time! You need to spin up your FTL drives and meet up at these coordinates…"

Suddenly the transmission went dead. Bear scrambled to see what the issue was with his ship, but then he realized the problem lay with the battlestar. All of its lights were dead. Several Vipers and Raptors exiting the ship suddenly began floating aimlessly in space.

"Oh my gods. 8-BALL! Get some frakkin' FTL coordinates and send it to Able Wing so we can get the frak out of here!"

Bear could hear 8-Ball working furiously at her controls and she sent the FTL coordinates.

"Able Wing this is 8-Ball. Spin up your FTL drives and head to the coordinates I've just shown you. Do it now!"

Bear could hear 8-Ball activating their Raptor's own FTL drives. Bear looked on in horror as several nuclear warheads made contact with the Solaria. Massive explosions rocked the ship and it began to collapse in upon itself. Several sections of the ship split apart and Bear could see what looked like people being sent out into space because of the decompression. Bear began to retch in disgust. The disabled ships that tried to escape were either taken out by explosions from the ship or subsequent Cylon attacks. A nagging voice in his headset brought him back to consciousness.

"TEDDY! CONTACT AHEAD!"

Roebuck looked forward to see, in horror, a warhead heading directly for his Raptor. It was literally metres from his cockpit when his whole world became black.

**To Be Continued**


	4. Betrayal at Ragnar Anchorage, Part I

**Chapter 4- Betrayal at Ragnar Anchorage, Part I**

Lt. Theodore Roebuck had experienced many emotions in his years as a pilot; yet, he had never experienced what he felt right now. He could not accurately describe it, but he felt almost euphoric. He opened and closed his eyes, trying to shake the feeling. He was worried that it wouldn't pass; in that case, he must be dead. He was correct. The warm feeling rushing throughout his body was one of overwhelming satisfaction; but he knew this must mean he was killed by the Cylons. In this state, he managed to speak.

"This is what it feels like to be dead…"

Another warm feeling, this time spreading from his shoulder. A voice, soft yet laden with excitement, resonated deep through him, touching every part of him.

"Actually, Lieutenant, this is what it feels like to be more alive than ever."

Roebuck's eyes had been open for the entire duration of his experience, but only now did he begin to perceive the area around him. The bright hallucinations began to fade to the familiar feeling of the Raptor he piloted. He turned around to find the owner of the voice that previously spoke to him. He stared into the beautiful face of his lover.

"We're not dead?" Roebuck enquired.

"No baby. We're still kicking."

Bear jumped out of his seat and hugged Francine as if he had not seen her in years. Despite hearing about the destruction of the human race, despite seeing his friends and his ship go up in a ball of flames, despite the fact that Roebuck had lost everything he had ever known in a matter of moments, he still held the only person that mattered to him. His brain told him not to do so, but he was overcome by such a desire to kiss Francine that he tore off her helmet and his own. He grabbed her and kissed her with such force she had no power to resist. They kissed deeply for what seemed to be an eternity, but neither wished to release. They had lost everything, but what remained was what mattered the most; each other. Finally, a voice broke over the radio, ending the moment of passion.

"Lieutenant, this is Ensign Park. Do you read?"

Bear broke away and stared into Francine's face. She was nearly crying with joy. He quickly kissed her again and jumped back into his seat to operate the radio.

"Park, this is Lt. Roebuck, I read. What is your status?"

"Both myself and Lt. Bjornsdottir are fine. I have so far been unable to located Ensign Connoy."

Perfectly on cue, "Gramps" hopped on the radio.

"Lieutenant, this is Ensign Connoy. Both Bang-Boom and myself are unharmed."

"Stay on the line. My ECO and I are going to assess the situation."

Roebuck turned to 8-Ball.

"I'm taking it we jumped, Francine. So where are we?"

"It appears that we are in the middle of nowhere, Teddy."

"Do a deep scan. Are there any habitable planets, re-sup stations, or any areas likely to be RV points for surviving ships?"

"No planets in this area, no. A few FTL jumps and we could get to the Scorpian Shipyards…"

"No deal. We would waste too much fuel, and there's no guarantee those shipyards would even exist anymore. The toasters would know the tactical advantage to that area; they would most likely be one of their first military targets. Anything else?"

"Lemme see… actually, yes! There's the Ragnar Anchorage, and, as long as we check and re-check the coordinates properly, we could get there in one FTL jump!"

"Perfect. If I remember correctly, that station is in the middle of a nebula. Perfect cover, and it's still likely to be intact. Set the FTL coordinates for that station and give it over to Bang-Boom and Stopwatch."

"You got it Teddy."

"Able Two and Three, this is Able One. We are heading to the Ragnar Anchorage, where we will wait until further contact with any surviving ships. 8-Ball is sending over the coordinates for the FTL jump as we speak."

Connoy's ECO, Lieutenant, Junior Grade Marcus "Bang-Boom" Adams, broke over the radio.

"Lieutenant, how are we to know that we will make contact with any survivors there, if there are any?"

"Because the station is hidden in the middle of a nebula and is usually unmanned, the Cylons have likely placed low priority on the station, and that's taking a guess that they even know it exists. Any ships that need to re-supply will likely go here as well."

8-Ball sent the coordinates to Bang-Boom and Lt. Lisa "Stopwatch" Bjornsdottir.

"You all should have the coordinates now. We should be jumping in about a klick from the station, so just follow my transponder all the way there. You will be briefed further when we get there. Roebuck out."

"Fire away, Francine."

Bear held onto his seat as the FTL launched the Raptor into subspace.

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True to form, the station was in the middle of a thick, soupy nebula; barely out of the reach of Ragnar's exosphere. Roebuck activated his transponder for his wingmen to follow. As he approached the station, he noticed something wrong. The station was severely damaged, and of the four docking bays on the ship, only one appeared to be serviceable. Roebuck cursed and changed his plans.

"Able Two and Three, this is Roebuck. It appears that the station is all frakked-up. There's only one docking bay, so here's the plan. I will dock with the station, exit the ship and jettison it from the bay so Able Two can dock, and then Able Two can dock and do the same for Able Three. Able Three's Raptor can remain in the event of an emergency, so we have an escape route."

Connoy broke over the radio.

"Isn't that a bit risky, sir?"

"If you can think of a better idea, Ensign, I'd love to hear it."

The silence over the radio confirmed he was right.

"Watch as I do, and you'll be fine. Beginning docking procedures."

Roebuck took his ship slowly into the docking bay and nudged it up to the airlock. He heard the airlock seal and hiss as they made contact. He stood up and opened his hatch door. Bear and 8-Ball stepped into a short hallway that ended in a huge door. 8-Ball and Roebuck cautiously approached it, and, as they did, they saw a dusty keypad light up. Roebuck approached, and read the words aloud.

"Enter ship's identifier."

Roebuck was about to enter their Raptor's identifier when he thought about something.

"When they designed the station, do you think they made it possible for any pilot to access it?"

8-Ball scoffed and responded, "Not in a million years."

"Ok, well that's great. We're not on the Solaria anymore, so we don't have access to this station. We are royally frakked now, are we not?"

"You should be an ECO more often, Teddy. Don't you remember being that diplomatic ferryman for a few months? Don't you remember we had to identify ourselves as from the Solaria every time?"

"Please tell me you remember the identifier."

"You bet."

Francine Rasmussen approached the keypad and entered a code, 100182795. A cylinder in the centre of the door turned and the massive doors slowly swung open.

"Have I ever told you how much I love you?"

The two walked into a massive room shaped like a grain silo. The room was stocked with missiles, ammo, and enough assorted firepower to last a battlestar for about a decade. Suddenly, the loud beep coming from inside his Raptor signaled he had an unanswered transmission.

"I'll be right back, Francine."

Roebuck jogged back to his ship and fingered the communications set.

"This is Lt. Roebuck, go ahead."

"Lieutenant, this is Stopwatch! We have DRADIS contact! Massive Cylon force approaching!"

"SHIT! How long until intercept?"

"Maximum eight minutes, sir!"

"Oh, frak! Change of plans! Each ship will dock will the station, and will load as many as many missiles as they can fit within 2 and a half minutes. After that, we jump. In the meantime, I want the ECOs planning an FTL jump to a secure system until we can regroup. Is that clear?"

The voices of his pilots and ECOs resonated simultaneously.

"Yes sir!"

Roebuck jumped out of his seat and bolted back into the chamber. As he did, he set his watch to eight minutes. He nearly bowled over Francine.

"What's wrong baby?"

Teddy's voice was inadvertently tinged with fear.

"No time! Grab that dolly over there and load as many missiles as you can into the ship. You have two minutes! DO IT NOW!"

Roebuck nearly shoved her to the mechanical dolly he was speaking of and ran over to one on the opposite side of the room. He checked his watch again, and figured it was less of a countdown to battle than it was a countdown to the annihilation of what could be the last six human beings left alive.

_7:43, 7:42, 7:41, 7:40…_

**TO BE CONTINUED…**


	5. Betrayal at Ragnar Anchorage, Part II

**Chapter 5- Betrayal at Ragnar Anchorage, Part II**

_5:49, 5:48, 5:47_…

Lt. Roebuck looked at his watch in disbelief. He and his ECO were only able to load up four missiles in the allotted two-and-a-half minutes, mainly because they had to take down several stacks of warheads that were previously sealed. Teddy knew they had no time for anything else. He yelled over to 8-Ball.

"Francine! We have to go NOW!"

"Wait! I've got a load of two warheads here!"

"Frak it! Our corpses will be floating in space if we don't haul ass! Now move back to the ship!"

Since he was on the other side of the massive, cylindrical-shaped room, he saw 8-Ball bolt towards the exit first. He followed quickly, but something caught his eye on the way out. He stopped, and noticed a flak vest laying on some ammo crates. It was loaded with rifle and pistol magazines and had several frag grenades affixed to it. Teddy knew he had no time to consider why it would be here, but he snatched it anyway and bolted towards the Raptor docked at the entrance. He saw Francine putting on her helmet, and as soon as she saw him, she began to close the Raptor's doors. He leaped in and they closed behind him. He tossed the vest on top of the missiles inside the ship, and hopped into his seat. He pressed several buttons, the airlock seal was broken, and the Raptor broke away from the docking station. He then thumbed the transmit button for his radio.

"Able Two, this is Lt. Roebuck. Dock with the station immediately! You have exactly two minutes and forty-three seconds to load up with missiles and detach! Move like you have a purpose!"

Medusa's ECO, "Stopwatch" Bjornsdottir, confirmed over the headset and Bear could see Ensign Park flip a bitch and fly towards the anchorage. Bear then broadcast a message to Connoy's ship.

"Bang-Boom, did you get those FTL coordinates?"

"Yes sir! I found a partially habitable planet quiet a distance from here. I worked out the calculations, and we'll jump near it so we can land and load our missiles."

"Good thinking Adams. Transmit coordinates to 8-Ball and Stopwatch. Bear out."

"8-Ball. Give me a DRADIS reading on the Cylon contacts."

"The size of the force seems to have increased, Teddy. They are about three minutes away."

"Shit!"

Teddy quickly went to broadcast a message to Able Two.

"Able Two, what's your status? You need to move!"

A reply was not necessary. Teddy saw the ship detaching from the dock and flying out towards their ship. Medusa broadcast a message over the channel.

"Able Two is free! We are plus eight missiles! Able Three, you are clear to dock!"

Teddy broadcast quickly to Gramps.

"Able Three you have two minutes. Hurry up!"

"Yes sir! Able Three out."

Teddy again watched Able Three head towards the anchorage and dock. He could only hope they would be quick enough before the Cylon attack force was upon them.

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The moment Ensign Connoy landed the Raptor, Bang-Boom had torn his helmet off and opened the hatch on the craft. The two of them ran through the massive doors and into a cylindrical-shaped room stocked to the brim with warheads. Several crates lay strewn about, several missiles already removed. Bang-Boom quickly began to order Ensign Connoy around.

"Ensign! Take that side of the room and get as many missiles loaded up on that dolly as you can, and put 'em in the Raptor. You have less than two-and-a-half minutes! Now move!"

Connoy bolted towards the nearest stock of missiles and began loading them up. Bang-Boom, meanwhile, ran to the opposite side of the room and began to do the same. After he had loaded two missiles onto the electric dolly, he felt a presence over his right shoulder. He spun around, and noticed Ensign Connoy staring at him. Even more strange was the fact that Ensign Connoy was not in his Colonial uniform, but what looked like a life preserver and a cabana shirt. Bang-Boom stared back in disbelief.

"What the frak are you doing Ensign? We don't have time for this! LOAD THE FRAKKING WARHEADS!"

"I'm sorry, sir, I can't do that."

However, the words did not come from Connoy. They came from behind, and when Bang-Boom spun around, he could not believe what he saw. Before him stood Ensign Connoy, dressed in his Colonial uniform. Bang-Boom repeatedly pivoted, looking at the two Connoys. He waited for the punchline, but it never came. Finally, we he spun around to face the Colonial Connoy, he instead was staring down the barrel of Ensign Connoy's service pistol.

"Wait!"

Whatever Bang-Boom was about to say was cut out by the resonating, awful sound of gunfire. Bang-Boom was likely dead by the second shot, but Leoben emptied six rounds into him, with Bang-Boom's body eventually slumping into the massive column in the middle of the room. The two Connoys then began to speak to each other.

"How has your infiltration been so far?"

"They believe me to be genuine."

"What are you doing to sabotage them?"

"We are to load the missiles on the surface of a nearby planet."

"Yes… and how will you deal with them?"

"I've already sabotaged the FTL coordinates. When the two Raptors exit subspace, they will be three hundred feet underwater."

"Excellent."

"And yourself?"

"I'll hide the body. If any survivors are to arrive here, I will sabotage their ship."

"Excellent."

Ensign Connoy departed without any further words. He walked into the Raptor, closed the door, put on his helmet, and detached from the anchorage. Everything was going to plan.

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"Cylons inbound! Twenty seconds to intercept!"

"Godsdamnit! Gramps! Bang-Boom! You are bingo time! Move your asses!"

Just as Bear broadcast the message, Connoy and Adams' ship departed from the anchorage.

"Bang-Boom! Stopwatch! Spool up your FTL drives! We'll see you planetside! Fran, do the same! As soon as we see them depart, we're outta here!"

The main Cylon force was just seconds behind them when Medusa and Gramps jumped out. Roebuck did not feel as if he needed to tell 8-Ball, but he did anyway.

"NOW!"

Just as the hum of the FTL drives reached a fevered pitch, the ship rocked and Bear could hear the ECO's control panel explode behind him.

"8-Ball? Are you okay? What the frak just happened? Fran? FRAN!"

Bear turned around to see Fran's literally smoking body straddling the missiles on the floor. The control panel was completely fried. They had been hit by a Cylon.

"Oh shit!"

Bear had no idea what to do. He was unsure if Fran was even alive, and if she were, she would be incapable of operating the FTL. Bear had to find some way to solve the wiring issue and fix the FTL drive, all the while dodging a Cylon attack force of no less than 50 Raiders.

**To Be Continued**


	6. A Thousand Fates Worse Than Death

**Chapter 6- A Thousand Fates Worse Than Death Shall Befall You**

DRADIS showed that the Cylons were still hot on their tail. There was no way Roebuck could abandon his seat to fix the problem; meanwhile, his girlfriend lay motionless against the missiles. It took him only seconds to figure out what he had to do; in order to fix the problem, he would need to take the Raptor near the surface of Ragnar, and use the weather to his advantage while placing the Raptor on auto-pilot and taking over the ECOs position and fixing the problem. He need not worry about hills or other terrain, of course, because Ragnar was a gas giant and comprised mainly of gas and liquids closer to the "surface". Getting closer to the surface meant temperatures reaching 200,000 Kelvin, so Ted figured he had no more than a minute before the ship either was disintegrated from the heat or was crushed by the pressure. Lt. Roebuck also knew that he had absolutely no other option; he was dead either way. Before his brain could process it, Roebuck's hands were guiding the stick towards the gas giant.

The moment Roebuck entered the atmosphere, the pursuing Cylon Raiders broke off and maintained a steady position safely away from the crushing heat and pressure of the planet. Almost immediately, Roebuck could feel the ship heating up and could hear different parts of the ship begin to buckle and strain. He set the ship on auto-pilot and got to work. He frantically opened a small toolbox from storage and opened up the flight manual. He quickly turned to the page dealing with the FTL drives. He ran over different issues, but unfortunately "shot by a Cylon" was not one of them. He stared incredulously at the fried ECOs panel and then came to a simple realization. Since the FTL drive was connected to the navigation system, he could reroute power from the navs into the FTL system. It was risky, because tampering with the system too much and jumping could put him in the middle of a star. He took out his service knife and cut loose the cables marked "FTL" and threw aside the fried ones. He then searched through the myriad of wiring to find "flight navigation". He stripped one of these wires and wrapped the FTL wires around it. He knew that this would not take effect until he reset the system, which he could not do if he broke the surface, because the Cylons would blast him into next Tuesday. He had no choice but to reset the system while the ship was still in the atmosphere of Ragnar. He could hear the subsystems starting to fail and the outer shell of the Raptor continuing to collapse. He had to act immediately. He snatched the ECOs master key from Francine's motionless body and ran up to a control panel located behind the pilot's seat. On the panel was a button behind a small pane of glass labelled "ELECTRONICS RESET". The inserted Francine's key into a slot and turned it, whereby the glass opened and Ted immediately pressed the button. The electronics onboard the ship immediately went dead and the ship stalled. Because the Raptor was no longer displacing air, the pressure began to build up faster. Ted checked his watch, and his estimate of one minute was twenty seconds from expiring. Since the reset took fifteen seconds, Ted hopped back into his seat and strapped himself in. He was prepared to boost out of the atmosphere the moment the system started.

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The brain lurking deep within a Cylon Raider hovering above Ragnar processed the image it saw. The craft that had entered atmosphere of the planet emerged unscathed and screamed into open space. While the Raider's comrades opened fire on the ship, this Raider began flying towards the ship without firing. The Raider detected the human inside the cockpit of the aircraft running towards the back of the craft to operate various controls. When the human turned back and saw the ship approaching him, it was too late to do anything. The Cylon Raider sped up and collided with the ship.

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Roebuck was certain that had he stayed a moment longer within the atmosphere of the planet, the Raptor would have been crushed like a beer can. However, Bear was not in the mood for celebrating just yet. His DRADIS still showed a massive Cylon force hanging steady around Ragnar station, and they began to move towards him. He leapt out of his seat and ran to the ECOs station and began to start up the FTL drives. When Roebuck turned back around to get back into his seat, he saw a Cylon Raider on a CBDR course.

"Oh frak me…"

There was noting Ted could do. The Raider scraped the roof of the Raptor, shearing the ECM platform and taking off both tails. The Raptor began to spin out of control, and Teddy ran back to his seat in an attempt to gain control of the craft. As it completed its revolution, Roebuck saw another Raider on a CBDR course; this one fired at his ship. The Raptor took several direct hits and once again electrical shortages occurred all throughout the ship. Roebuck spun to look back at the ECOs area to ensure the FTL drive was still functional, but his prayers were answered when his perception shrank and he felt that familiar nausea that came with every subspace jump. His joy was short-lived when he turned around and noticed they were already in the lower atmosphere of the planet. As the Raptor began its uncontrolled lateral spin through the clouds, rain and lighting began pounding on the beaten craft. Roebuck could not see three feet in front of him, until they finally broke through the cloud layer. In the moment of vision he had, he saw endless plains on either side of a deep basin. Due to the rainfall that had afflicted this planet, this basin was now nearly full. And, of course, as Roebuck's luck would have it, they were heading smack-dab in the middle of it. Roebuck braced for impact, and the last thing he felt was hitting the water and several hundred kilometres per hour.

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For the second time, Lt. Roebuck felt weightlessness and euphoria. As if lying on a cloud, Bear floated through an endless, ethereal space, completely devoid of time and worry. Hands grasped his body; they were firm, yet almost nonexistent. They pulled him farther away from his cloud, until he involuntarily gasped for air. He was back in reality. He looked around him and saw that he was in a small air pocket near the ceiling of his Raptor; water filled the rest of the interior of the ship. The hands that grasped him were not those of angels; rather they were the hands of his ECO and lover, Francine Rasmussen.

"Fran?"

"No time, Teddy. We're at the bottom of a lake. We have to swim to the surface."

The water itself had not scared Teddy; as a boy, he constantly ventured out into the below-grade pool at his home. However, these words brought a face twisted with worry, horror, and sickness. Francine did not understand.

"Teddy, what's wrong?"

"I… I… I… I…"

"Quickly!"

Fran could see he was working himself into a panic attack. She had to calm him down. Before she could, the words she feared most came from Roebuck's lips.

"I'm bathophobic!"

"What the frak is that?"

The words wouldn't come.

"Depth…"

"You're not afraid of depth. Now we're going to swim out, or we'll drown."

It didn't calm Bear, but 8-Ball knew there was no option. She took a deep breath and submerged, yanking Bear down with her.

Bear was scared shitless, but he knew there was no arguing with Fran. He took a quick breath as she yanked him down. As she pulled him towards the broken cockpit window, he spied the flak vest he found at Ragnar Anchorage. He quickly grabbed it on his way out the window.

This far down, most everything was dark. However, as in the proverbial light at the end of the tunnel, he could see light breaking the surface of the water, shafts of light periodically illuminating their ascent. There was no visible sun from the surface of the planet; but enough sunlight broke through the clouds to illuminate the surface in a dull shade of grey. Constant lighting bolts also did their job of providing light. Bear just hoped that none of the bolts hit the lake.

After an ascent that seemed to take forever, the two broke the surface of the water and took in great gulps of air. After sucking in oxygen for several seconds, they looked at each other and laughed. Fran moved to kiss Ted, but his nervous laughter persisted and he broke the moment.

"Let's get out of this frakkin' lake first. My legs are shaking like a steam engine."

Fran continued to laugh as they swam towards the nearby shore. Ted's original assessment of the lake had been correct; it was originally a basin carved into a massive plain that had been filled by years of constant rain; rain which did not cease even to day. Ted had never seen this type of weather back on Caprica; but if he were to sum it up in one word, that word would be _torrential._ The rain pounded the two lovers as they crawled up the short bank and onto the plain. The two lay face down on sold ground of several moments before embracing. They kissed passionately, the rain making the moment even more desperate and sensual. When the kiss was finally broken, the two stared deep into each other's eyes before any words were spoken.

"I thought you were dead."

"I guess hitting the water woke me up. How did you get us out of the firefight?"

"Long story."

"Fair enough. What about the others?"

"No idea. I didn't see any other Raptors at the bottom of the lake, but we jumped several minutes after them."

"Let's go searching, shall we?"

Bear and 8-Ball stood up to survey the landscape. Bear loosely put on the flak vest to avoid carrying it. They eyeballed the 360 degrees of seemingly endless plains before them, and almost immediately Fran spotted an object that seemed out of place.

"Friendly!"

"What?"

"Look over there!"

Sure enough, Ted could see the outline of a Raptor. Since the weather was bad, it was difficult to see at long distances, but this Raptor could not have been any more that ¾ of a kilometre away.

"Come on, we have to check it out!"

The two bolted towards the craft; Roebuck was certain that he was beginning to skip like a schoolgirl as he neared the crash. As they got closer and closer, Roebuck noted that it was not even a crash; the Raptor was perfectly intact. He could not stop himself from smiling like an idiot. Just as they were several metres from the craft, Ensign Connoy stepped out from behind the Raptor. 8-Ball was the first to say anything.

"Gramps! You're alive!"

"Man, I thought I was the only one left! Holy crap, is it good to see you, sirs."

8-Ball and Gramps embraced. Teddy tried to control his complete joy that not only did two of his nuggets survive, but there was an escape craft ready to take them off the planet.

"Excellent work, Ensign."

The two shook hands.

"Thank you, sir."

The moment was short lived, however. While still extremely pleased at the situation, Bear knew he had to get down to business.

"Any word from Medusa or Stopwatch?"

"No DRADIS contact, sir."

Francine took the ball.

"Where did you lose contact and at what frequency did you scan?"

"I, uh, didn't see the ship at all since the jump. I mean, they might be in another system by now. And um, I think that my ECO tried the scan at a pretty high frequency, and it wasn't very thorough."

Leoben's tone was strange. Teddy asked him a question.

"Is your ECO working on that right now?"

"Yes, sir."

"Fran, check that out."

8-Ball walked towards the closed doors of the Raptor and Bear followed some distance behind her. 8-Ball hopped up on the steps to the door, activating the pressure plates, thereby opening the doors. Fran looked inside the ship, and turned back towards Bear, her expression loaded with bewilderment, confusion and anger. Bear swung around to look at Leoben as well, wanting an immediate answer. His gaze was met with the barrel of Leoben's service pistol.

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Bear's immediate reaction was to move his head to the left. The weapon discharged moments after this action; Teddy could hear the massive shockwave and could feel the displacement of air that followed. Putting aside the pain in his right eardrum, he kicked Connoy in the knee, putting him off balance. Bear then chopped at Leoben's right hand, temporarily disabling his ability to fire. Bear quickly grabbed the pistol out of Leoben's hands and fired a round into each of his knees, throwing off his balance and sending him to the ground in a scream of pain. Bear's vision was clouded with anger and he was about to kill Connoy when he heard a heavy, pained gasp behind him. He turned around to see Francine still standing on the steps, losing her balance. Her flight suit was covered in blood; Teddy quickly looked up to see she had been shot in the throat. An overwhelming sense of anguish came over Roebuck; he dropped the pistol and ran towards the Raptor. He grasped Francine in his arms the moment she collapsed. He held her head in his arms and looked into her glazed eyes.

"Francine, you've been shot. Hold on, I'm going to take care of you."

Francine weakly nodded and Ted slowly placed her head on the stairs. He desperately ran into the Raptor, snatching the first aid kit that rested in the pilot's seatback. He ripped it open and grabbed some gauze as he dashed back towards Francine. He firmly placed the gauze on her wound and brought the first aid kit closer to him in order to fetch more items. He kept the barely-conscious Francine informed of his actions as a way to calm her down.

"Okay Fran, this is going to help stop the bleeding. It's okay, you'll be fine."

Francine was too weak now to acknowledge; she simply lay back and accepted the rudimentary treatment Teddy was giving. Roebuck reached back into the field bag in search for some other items; however, a quiet sigh and a movement of Francine's shoulder brought him back to her. He stared into her eyes, their empty appearance filling him with fear.

"Fran? Fran? FRAN!"

He gently shook Francine, but a voice deep inside that had been dormant for so long, the voice of reason, told him what he already feared- she was dead. He began sobbing uncontrollably. Anguish and a sense of complete loss began to set in. He shook her body harder and continued to scream her name. He empty stare continued to haunt him. Ted was unsure of how long he cradled her in his arms. He was afraid to do anything. She was gone, this was true. However, he was afraid that if he released her, his world would end. A ridiculous thought, yet Roebuck could not take the chance. He continued to embrace her until he finally could do so no longer. He grasped her in his arms and carried her lifeless body and laid her on empty floor of the Raptor. His fingers moved across her face and closed her eyes. He kissed her still-warm cheek and collapsed against the wall. He continued to cry without respite. He said words pulled from memories flashing through his head. These words made no sense to him yet they continued to flow through him as if he had no control over them. He finally gathered himself and shakily stood up, wiping away tears that would never go away. He stared at his lover's body. She looked peaceful in this moment. He reached down to brush the hair out of her eyes and laid her arms across her chest. He kissed her on the lips; the moment weighing heavy upon him. He finally gathered himself enough to leave the Raptor. He jumped back into the torrential rainfall to see Leoben sitting up, unable to reach his pistol just metres away. Bear took off his flak jacket and tossed it near Connoy. He kicked the gun away and the first question that came to his mind was the first to leave his lips.

"Why?"

Connoy laughed.

"If you want me to say that her death was an accident, it wasn't. She wasn't _the_ target. No such thing exists. Unless, of course, you count humanity as _the _target."

"Cut it with the philosophical bullshit, Connoy! What the frak are you trying to say?"

"I was the relay. They needed one of us on each Battlestar in order to attack them. I was Solaria's relay. One of the few actually who were members of the Colonial military."

Roebuck's face was twisted with impatience and disgust.

"I'm a Cylon… sir."

"What?"

"You didn't think we could infiltrate the Fleet as Centurions, do you?"

"My dad fought in the First Cylon War. He would tell me every damned one of you looked like a frakking walking toaster!"

"Yes, but, like humanity, we needed to adapt. Just as humanity left Kobol and adapted to the Twelve Colonies, we Cylons needed to adapt to the fight. So, sir, here I am."

"You have no idea how much pain I'm going to make you feel…"

"How human to have an aversion to pain! I'm afraid that we Cylon share no such fear."

"Then you didn't do that great a job of acting human, did you?"

"Don't get me wrong, Ted. I can feel it, but as soon as I die my consciousness is transferred to a new body. I am born anew. You'll only make me angry, Ted. Although, it's not as if you'll ever live long enough for me to exact my vengeance."

"My ride's right behind me, you Cylon frak. And I'll make sure that your last few moments are so painful that you'll reconsider being downloaded."

With unbelievable strength, Leoben struck out at Teddy. He whipped his arms around his legs and pulled them out from under him. Teddy's head struck the grass hard, temporarily disorienting him. Connoy crawled toward the flak vest and removed a grenade. He pulled the pin and lobbed it into the Raptor. Ted was still disoriented, but he could hear the Raptor exploding behind him. He flipped himself over and confirmed the worst. The Raptor was completely destroyed. He felt completely empty and alone. He crawled towards the flaming wreck of his escape craft. The body of Francine was most likely incinerated. He dragged himself to the steps and leaned against them. His anger moved to the background as he began a new round of anguish. As he sobbed, he could see Leoben moving into a sitting position, all the while laughing like a madman.

"So, you still want to torture me, Ted?"

Ted's thousand yard gaze brought a sense of unease to Leoben. It was clearly not the face of a man who was interesting in inflicting pain; it was the face of an utterly destroyed man who no longer had any control over himself.

Ted was no longer interested in anything. Not torture, not escape, not moving, not even living. As Connoy continued laughing, his only action was to draw his pistol and nonchalantly shoot Connoy in the chest. The laughing ceased, and Ted was as close to content as he would likely ever be. He dropped his pistol and began to sob again. It was like nothing he had ever experienced before, not even with Fran's death. He finally came to grips with the fact that he was completely, and utterly, alone.

**To Be Concluded**


	7. The Lords of Kobol Smile Upon Thee

**Chapter 7- The Lords of Kobol Smile Upon Thee**

Lt. Roebuck had no idea how long he had been laying against the smoldering hulk of the Raptor, by the torrential downpour had long extinguished the flames from the grenade thrown by Connoy. Connoy's body lay as it were when it was shot; the large-bore hole in his heart from the discharge of a soldier's service pistol. The gun lay next to Roebuck, who had every intention of using it on himself, but he no longer had the energy to do so. His flight suit was soaked through; a combination of the rainfall and the tears that had come so unintentionally and frequently since the death of his lover. Roebuck was about to rest again when he heard distant noises. He could not place them; the noise of the constant rainfall slapping against the ground, him, and the wreckage of the Raptor was almost all-consuming, yet he could still hear a faint sound, growing louder and louder. Several seconds later, he could finally place it.

It was the familiar sonic-boom that came with the atmospheric entry of a heavier-than-air craft.

Roebuck could not possibly believe it to be true. He must have been hallucinating. However, as he struggled to look skyward, he could see a bright ball of flame that was rapidly approaching. He began to laugh uncontrollably. Even though it could be a Cylon ship, he was too elated to be sceptical. He grabbed the steps of the Raptor for support and pulled himself up. The ball of flames broke the cloud layer and Roebuck was overcome by emotion yet again. This time, however, it was with pure joy. The craft that broke the cloud layer was another Raptor! This must be Medusa and Stopwatch! The Raptor was smoking heavily from the engine, and when it finally regained control, began heading for a group of small hills of the other side of the lake. The Raptor crashed on the other side of the hills, out of Roebuck's line of sight, yet still the sickening sound of twisting metal reached Roebuck. He immediately began to run towards the crash site. He left his gun behind as he headed for the nearest side of the lake and began to work his way around the contours of the lake. His pace quickly shortened his breath, but he didn't even think of stopping until he got to the Raptor.

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The fog, the rain, and the distance had made easy for Roebuck to miss the small grouping of hills. As he approached, he noticed he wasn't missing much. There were about four in total, each only about five metres high, with a total diameter of likely 150 yards. He was almost completely out of breath by this point, but he came closer and closer to the crash site, hoping against hope that Stopwatch and Medusa were still alive. Several of the hills overlapped each other, and as he was about to climb one to get to the other side, he saw an object partially out of view in the background. He stopped and sidestepped to get a better view. It was the crashed Raptor. He was confused, as he was certain he saw the Raptor crash _behind_ the hills; but from that distance, it was likely an optical illusion of some sort. He didn't stop to think much more on the subject. He bolted for the Raptor and it came into full view. The craft was badly damaged, yet the outside of the ship did not show signs of a battle, rather it appeared as if all the damage was sustained in the crash, something that did not seem to be true when the ship entered the atmosphere. As he got closer, he saw Stopwatch lying against the steps, rocking back and forth. He was overjoyed to see her alive and headed directly for her. He windshield of the Raptor was gone and a small, smoking crater filled the ground several metres ahead. He ran up to Stopwatch and fell to his knees to get to her level.

"Lisa! Oh my gods, are you okay?"

However, Stopwatch did not reply. Instead, she continued rocking back and forth and quietly mumbled incoherent sentences. Roebuck now noticed that she had several blood stains covering her flight suit.

"Lisa, are you hurt? Where's Park?"

Bjornsdottir again did not reply. Bear was beginning to get worried. She had the typical thousand-yard stare common in sufferers of PTSD. He tried a different tactic to get her out of this state.

"Lt. Bjornsdottir! What the hell happened here, soldier?"

She seemed to become coherent. He eyes suddenly lost their empty gaze and she stared deep into Bear's eyes. However, she was still noticeably distressed.

"Medusa… Oh my gods he was just there and then he was gone…"

"Lisa, what happened to Medusa?"

"When we crashed there was a fire on board… I opened the hatch to escape, and Ensign Park was right behind me. The impact or the fire, it must have damaged one of the missiles. It went off, and either Park was burned or was hit with the warhead."

"Oh my gods…"

The crater that Ted had seen in front of the crash site must have contained the remains of Ensign Park. Ted collapsed again, this time resting beside Lisa with his back to the steps.

"I didn't hear the explosion. This was just a minute ago?"

"No it was right when we crashed. Must have been… at least a half an hour."

Lisa had obviously lost track of time when she was hallucinating. Then the oddities surrounding the crash came together.

The fact that Medusa and Stopwatch crashed on the planet so long after they had jumped. How this craft's engine was relatively damaged, while the Raptor that had just entered the atmosphere had clearly shown signs of battle. How that Raptor crashed on the other side of the hills, while this one lay beside one. The chances seemed slim, and the notion nearly impossible, but the explanation brought him joy.

Another Raptor had landed on this planet.

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It was as if Roebuck's troubles had suddenly come to a complete stop. As soon as he and Stopwatch reached the crest of the hill, he could see the mostly-intact Raptor sprawled on the ground. The hatch was open, and Roebuck could see at least four people; a pilot and a marine working on the engine, and two more pilots inside- one sitting and the other tending to him. As Roebuck jumped his way down the hill, he yelled at the top of his lungs.

"HEY!"

The pilot and the marine spun around to find the source of the noise, and the marine reached for her pistol. Roebuck couldn't find the time to say anything. In one swift motion, he used his left arm to knock Stopwatch to the floor while grabbing the pistol from her holster. As he hit the ground and aimed his weapon, the marine fired a round that grazed Roebuck's head. He wanted more than anything to shoot this dumb bitch between the eyes, but calmer heads prevailed.

"CEASE FIRE! FRIENDLIES!"

The marine considered this, and waited for orders from the pilot. She spoke with authority.

"Drop your weapon, Private. Who are you and how the hell did you get here?"

The marine holstered her weapon and Roebuck did the same. He and Stopwatch approached the Raptor and began to talk."

"I'm Lieutenant Roebuck and this is Lieutenant Bjornsdottir. We're from the Solaria, and we jumped to this planet after being ambushed at Ragnar Anchorage."

The young pilot spoke, excitement breaking her voice as well.

"Damn it's good to see some survivors. I'm Lieutenant Waters, and this is Private MacPherson. Inside the Raptor are Lieutenants Waugh and Quartararo. We escaped from the Triton and were on our way to the Anchorage when we too were ambushed. We took some damage from Cylon fighters but managed to land here."

"Any injuries?"

"Lieutenant Waugh, one of our ace Viper pilots, got hit by shrapnel during the firefight. I haven't checked since we started working on the engine. Crashdown!"

One of the Lieutenants hopped out of the Raptor. Since this was clearly not the injured Waugh, it must have been Quartararo.

"Yes, L.T.?"

"How's Gord doing?"

"He's got bits of metal that have severed his vertebrae. I've managed to stabilize him but… I'm not sure if he's ever going to be able to walk again."

"Shit. Lieutenant Roebuck, I'll be right back."

Waters climbed into the Raptor and watched her kneel down in front of Lieutenant Waugh, a large black man who bore a striking resemblance to a famous actor from Gemenon. He grabbed his side in pain and winced at every breath he took.

"Hey, Homerun. How are you holding up?"

"Hurts like a bitch, Jester."

"It's ok, Gord. Crashdown says you're gonna be fine."

"Crashdown's word don't mean shit, L.T."

Waters managed a chuckle.

"It's ok, Homerun. We've found survivors, and we're gonna get off this rock."

"Glad to hear it, L.T."

Waters hopped off the Raptor and told Crashdown to keep looking after him. Waters then turned to Bjornsdottir and Roebuck.

"Which one of you two is more mechanically inclined?"

Lisa piped up.

"This guy used to be a knuckle dragger. He might be able to help you."

"Sounds good. Lieutenant Bjornsdottir, see what you can do to help ease Lt. Waugh's pain."

"Sure thing."

"Thank you. As for you, Lieutenant, I need your help fixing this engine."

"Call me Ted. What seems to be the problem?"

"Well if that's the case, you can call me Maggie. We took several direct hits to the radiator coupling and we've got serious torque loss. I imagine you don't have any spare parts lying around, right?"

"We had three Raptors when we came here. One's at the bottom of a lake, the other was blown up with a grenade, and another one looked to be beyond salvage."

"Ok. I think we can save this crate, but it's going to take some elbow grease and serious prayer. First, you can start by getting me that torque wrench…"

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It had been at least several hours of standing out in the rain, but Bear was convinced that the engine was fixed. They had to reroute power from several subsystems in order to restore partial power, resulting in the loss of the communications system and the onboard beacon/identifier. However, this was a small price to pay in order to get back to the station. Only Roebuck and Waters remained outside; the rest of the crew sat in the Raptor, trying to remain warm and dry. Waters took a calculator out of her flight suit and spoke up.

"That's probably as good as it's going to get. The torque output is troubling though. We won't be able to get everyone off this planet."

"Shit."

"MacPherson, Bjornsdottir, Crashdown, front and centre!"

The three climbed out of the Raptor.

"I need weight."

"I'm 127 pounds, sir."

"118, L.T."

"211 pounds, Jester."

"Homerun, what's you're weight?"

Waugh yelled from inside the Raptor.

"With or without my legs, Marge?"

"Very funny, Gord."

"256 pounds."

Waters began to work on her calculator.

"The maximum weight we can work with to reach takeoff velocity is just about 590 pounds."

Her face suddenly dropped with despair.

"No matter how we look at this, some people are going to be left behind."

The survivor's guilt that had been brewing in Ted's background immediately and unexpectedly surfaced. He spoke with determination and purpose, bordering on coldness.

"If there are other survivors, they'll need able-bodied pilots. The only way I see this turning out is with me, MacPherson and Waugh staying behind."

Roebuck could see Lisa's face twist in protest. They had been on the Solaria together for years and were the closest of friends. Bjornsdottir could not accept taking the seat away from Roebuck, but he could not have it any other way. He also saw this displayed on the young, fresh face of MacPherson, but this was a different face entirely. This was not one of anguish or loss, but one of hatred. Suddenly, she drew her weapon and fired it past Roebuck's head. He fell to one knee and as he drew his pistol, he shot his head around and saw the bullet strike Waters right in the side of the head. As she fell, Roebuck snapped his head back and aimed down his sights. Just as he was about to squeeze off a round, MacPherson fired a shot at him. Roebuck closed his eyes in anticipation, but felt nothing. She missed! Roebuck took this opportunity and fired dead-centre into MacPherson's chest. She coughed up blood, dropped to her knees, and with a final exhale, fell face-first onto the grass.

All the terrible feelings that Roebuck had experienced- the Cylon attack, the destruction of the Solaria, the deaths of Bang-Boom, Medusa, and 8-Ball- they all came flooding back and the young, innocent face of Private MacPherson burned itself into his memory. He opened and closed his eyes rapidly to cleanse it from his vision, but it repeatedly returned and haunted him. He tried to forget it for a minute as he stood up, but his body refused. He collapsed, confused, and could taste blood; a taste that permeated his throat and nostrils. His sense of hearing, temporarily diminished, returned in full force.

"He's hit! Get the frakking medkit!"

"Oh my gods! Roebuck's been shot!"

Roebuck wished to speak in protest, but when he did, he could feel blood dribbling down his chin. He looked down, and noticed a small bullet hole had formed in his chest. He clumsily felt around his back for the exit wound. It was there, but this was no a clean through-and-through. He began to hear himself wheeze and cough. The frightening realization came upon him.

He had been shot in the lungs.

As Lisa approached with the first aid kit, Ted moved his arm in a 'let me be' motion. Lisa shook her head.

"No, it's okay! You'll be fine, Ted. Just lay down and we'll take care of you."

He could see tears running down her cheeks. Ted's vision began to blur. He was unsure if this was the rain in his eyes or the approaching hands of death. He muttered words with what strength he had left.

"It's a lung shot, Lisa. I'm not going to make it."

"Yes you are, Ted, you'll be fine…"

"I won't be able to get on that ship anyway. You, Waugh and Crashdown should be able to fit just fine."

"I'm not leaving you behind!"

Roebuck wiped away Lisa's tears.

"It's going to be okay, Lisa. I promise."

Although Lisa cried harder, she knew he was right. She just couldn't bring herself to leave.

"Either it's you on board or my corpse, Lisa. And humanity needs you to fry those toaster fraks."

She knew what had to be done.

"I'm so sorry for letting you down, Ted."

Ted smiled.

"You did your job, and you did it well. You're one of the best ECOs I've ever worked with. Don't let anything get to you. If you do… then the Cylons have won."

A fire raged in Lisa's eyes. Ted had finally convinced her to go. Lisa bent down to kiss Ted on the lips. She stayed for a moment and held his hand, but there was nothing either could say. She slowly let go and walked towards the Raptor, looking behind the whole time. Ted could see it in her eyes that a part of her stayed, and would never return. She climbed the stairs and coyly waved to Ted as the hatch began to close. Ted moved his fingers enough to wave back as the hatch sealed. Ted could hear the engine firing up and the Raptor began to hover and finally took off. The burden was finally released. Lisa was alive, and the guilt that Ted harboured began to wash away with the rain.

Joy followed.

He walked towards the face of Francine, his love.

They embraced.

And everything would be all right.

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Crashdown expertly piloted the craft out of the atmosphere. Lisa began to spin up the FTL drives.

"So where are we going, L.T.?"

"Back to Ragnar."

"What do we do then?"

"We wait."

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The jump was successful, and the crew was overjoyed. Docked with Ragnar Anchorage was a battlestar, with the name _Galactica_ emblazoned across the starboard flight pod. Crashdown and Homerun screamed in joy as they approached the ship. Lisa was not as happy. Ted's death weighed heavily on her heart. Little did she know this was the least of her problems.

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The voice of Lt. Gaeta boomed throughout the CIC.

"DRADIS contact! Bearing 1-4-0-kerim-2-2-niner!"

With Commander Adama still inside the station, Colonel Tigh was in command. However, this was one ship. He could handle his own.

"Mr. Gaeta! Set condition one throughout the ship! Attempt to contact the ship, but prepare the forward batteries for full fire and launch the alert Vipers."

"Sir, I cannot raise the ship on the radio, and it appears to have no designation beacon. I'm not sure if it's friendly or hostile."

"Get those Vipers out there for visual I.D, but do it quick. If it's a Cylon scout, it's gonna jump out quick and we'll have an entire force upon us."

"Yes, sir!"

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Starbuck was suited up and in her Viper faster than she had ever been. As soon as Captain Kelly gave her the go-ahead, she fired out of the launch tube and was out into space. She saw the craft in the distance and cranked her afterburners to get to it before it was in weapons range of the ship. Her DRADIS simply showed the ship as hostile, but Gaeta seemed unsure as to its allegiance. Several Vipers appeared on her DRADIS, rapidly forming on her wing. She tried to hail the craft on the comm, but nothing came of it. As she approached, a wave of joy came upon her. She called back to the Galactica.

"Galactica, this is Starbuck. We have a friendly, I repeat we have a friendly! We are plus one Raptor!"

"Starbuck this is Galactica, we read you. Bring her home."

The mood in the CIC was joyous. They had found other survivors, from other ships. Morale was boosting already.

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Because they lacked a designator beacon, Lisa was sure that the Galactica would toast them. However, the lead Viper performed a rapid manoeuvre that Lisa read as _follow us back_. Crashdown and Homerun were cheering again, and this time Lisa joined them.

They were finally home.

**THE END**

**Thank you everyone for reading my first fanfic! I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I did writing it. If you managed to read through the whole thing, I would appreciate any comments or criticisms, so that I may improve for my next one. Speaking of which, expect my next fanfic, **_**From One Caprica to the Next**_**, to debut in the near future.**

**Sincerely,**

**Matt "p1nkfl0yd" Plenert**


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